Quality authors are not born, they are made.
Amen!
we are in need of some mentoring program...
We have it already but... There is not enough good material. I used to play basketball, I was solid but I can never be Drazen *(Jordan).
From my perspective, we need better scouting. Can a 175 cm guy become a basketball player? Maybe, but the chance is 1 in a 1.000.00. Can 215 cm tall wonder of nature become a new NBA star? Maybe, but the probability is 1 of 6?! Seriously, 1 out of 6!
So... Who is out focus group than? Honest enthusiasts + students + passionate hobbyists
Or random guys who know nothing about anything?
In the first case, you get X good people per invested emotions, time and resources
In the second case, you get Y
X > Y
hahahahahahahahahahaha, tell me something darling... What is the probability of you talking about probability while I am writing my post about probability? :D This is too good to be true...
Anyway... Yes, I agree, we need better scouting and the focus group you presented seems legit.